Impact measuring and recording mechanism



C. D. RICHARD IMPACT MEASURING AND RECORDING MECHANISM Filed 001;. 25,1947 Jan. 9, 1 95-1 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 7

INVENTOR By C D R/CHARD k9. @(QCMM ATTORNEY Jan. 9, 1951 c. D. RICHARD2,537,853

IMPACT MEASURING AND RECORDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 25, 1947 5Sheets-Sheet 2 5/ w W 1 o 1 67' l INVENTOP CD. R/CHARD A 7' TORNE V Jan.9, 1951 IMPACT Filed Oct. 25, 1947 c. D. RICHARD 2,537,858

MEASURING AND RECORDING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4

4 B 45 /s 44 70 0 37 E 7/ 53 I Q 1 e 6 1 l /a /40 62 3a 58 V J x a 2A 3A42 INVENTOR C. D. R/CHA R0 y QZaQMaQA ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1951IMPACT MEASURING AND RECORDING MECHANISM Charles D. Richard, West .NewBrighton, N. Y.,

assignor to Bell TelephoneLaboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., acorporation of-New York Application October 25, 1947, SeriaINo. 782,121

This invention relates to impact measuringand recording apparatus.

.The object of the present invention is the provision of an apparatus ofthe type above referred to, which records on a card the number of.impacts packages containing fragile articles received while in transitand the number of times such packages are dropped in handling and theheight from which such drops occur.

A feature of the invention is the provision of an impact responsivemechanism and means for recording on a card the successive operations ofthe impact responsive mechanism, means being provided for moving aholder for the card to a new position following each impact recordingoperation.

Another feature is the provision of means in the form of a clutchactuated by a combined lever and gear mechanism for imparting aunidirectional movement to means in the form of a -lead screw inresponse to a two-way movement of the impact responsive means, themovement of the lead screw and of the holder for the card actuatedthereby being intermittent and proportional tothe operations of theimpact responsive means.

Another feature is the provision of manually operable means carried bythe card holder for disconnecting the latter from its actuating meansfor permitting the manual return of the holder to its starting recordingposition at the completion of each card recording operation, thedisconnecting means operating automatically upon its re lease'by theoperator for reengagin its-actuating means.

Another feature is the provision of pneumatic means operable forcontrolling the return movement of the impact responsive means to normaland thereby that of the movement of the holder for the card, themovement of the holder following each recording operation of the impactresponsive means.

Another feature is the provision of means in the impact responsive meansfor adjusting the normal tension of aspring to a number of predeterminedimpact values as indicated by a scale set by the operation of the springadjusting means.

Other novel features and advantages of the invention will appear fromthe followin description and by the claims appended thereto, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an assembly view shown in perspective with the casing housingthe operating mechanism shown with portions broken away;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the recording mecha- 5 Claims. (Cl. 346-7.)

nism shown with the frame for the recording mechanism, mountin elementand other operatingparts in vertical section, the card holder beingshown in starting recording position;

Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 2 showing the mounting element and 'anumber of operating parts with portions broken away;

Fig. 4 .is a right side view of the recording mechanism shown with anumber of operating parts with portions broken away, the impactresponsive mechanism :being shown in normal position;

Fig. .5 is a view of the impact responsive and recording mechanism invertical section takenon line 55 of Fig. 2, the impact and .recordingmechanism being shown partly operated;

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the operative connection between thesaid holder and the lead screw, a number of operating parts being shownin section;

Fig. '7 is a facsimile of a card showing impacts recorded in actualservice by the impact recording mechanism of this invention.

In the construction of the impact recording apparatus 'of thisinvention, a casing is formed of two sections In and II secured inassembled relation to each other by a plurality of bolts I2 as shown inFig. 1. The casing section II is provided with two c'oaxially disposedspindle SP and SPI serving for pivotally supporting therectangularly-shaped frame I3, the latter in turn havin two pivots I 4engaging drilled holes in lug members I5 and I5Y formed integrally witha mounting plate It asbest seen in Figs. 1 and 3, thus permitting theuniversal movement of mounting plate I6 upon a change in the position ofthe casing formed by sections I 0 and II above mentioned. The plate I6is formed with two laterally extending flange portions I! and IS, the

latter having anopening at its middlelength portion forreceiving a'cylinder in the form of a tubing 59 secured-at one end to th s flangeas'by expanding its circular edge as best seen in Fig. 5. A rod hasitslower'disposed'end fitted for :sliding movement in a drilled 'hole inthe flange portion I! and the opposite end of this rod is screwthreadedfor receiving a bushin 21 having a collar portion 22 and its oppositeend screwthreaded for receiving a nut 23 serving for .001- lectivelyclamping the-end Wall [of a tubing 24, a piston in the form of anexpansible leather washer 25 and a washer 26, the assembly thus formedbeing movablein tubing it for performing a function which will behereinafter described in'detail.

.A coil spring 2-! .is disposed in concentric .relation to rod 29 withone end abutting against the end wall of tubing 24 and its other endresting against the flange portion I! of plate IE to be compressed bythe longitudinal downward movement of rod 24 under an impact received bya weight 28 secured to the lower disposed end of the rod 29, a rod 29Ycarried by the weight 28 being provided to hold the latter againstturning movement and to limit the movement of rod 29 and that of arecording mechanism which will be hereinafter described in detail.

n the opposite end portion of tubing I9 is screw-threaded a cap-shapedclosure member 29 having a valve seat at its center for receiving oneend of a plunger 39 having a reduced portion 3i fitted for slidingmovement in a drilled hole at the center of a cup-shaped member 32 heldin adjusted position in the cylinder I9 by the clamping action of thecap-shaped member 29, while a spring 33 normally holds the valve thusformed in the closed position.

The cup-shaped member 52, the tubing I9 and the cap-shaped member 29 areprovided with registering openings forming in cooperation with a seriesof openings 34. in the cup-shaped member 32 an air path connecting theatmosphere to the inside of tubing IQ for permitting in cooperation withvalve 39 the free downward movement of rod 29. The air path formed bythe drilled holes in member 32, the tubing I9 and the cap 29 isadjustable by the turning movement of the cap-shaped member 29 forcontrolling the exhaust of the air from the cylinder I9 under the actionof piston 25 for controlling the movement of rod 29 to normal under thetension of spring 27.

To the flange portions H and I9 of mounting plate I6 is secured as by aplurality of screws 35 and 35 a guiding member 31 fitted with a slidermember 39 to which is secured a bushing 39 shown in Fig. having adrilled hole in which is fitted for free longitudinal movement therein astylus I49, the slider 55 being operatively connected to weight 29 by arod 49 having one end pivoted on bushing 39 and its opposite end to astud II serving as a set screw for securing the weight 28 to rod 20. Aspring 52 carried by connecting rod 49 serves to press the stylus I49against a card 43 for recording the movement of the rod 28 as will behereinafter described in detail. I

The holder 44 for the card 43 as best seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 ismounted for sliding movement on two parallelly disposed rods 55 and 46.The rod 45 is supported at both ends by downwardly extending lug members41 formed with the flange I8 of plate I6 and held securely againstlongitudinal movement thereon by a screw 50, while the rod 46 issupported at both ends by lugs 48 and 49 formed with flange portion llof plate I5 and secured against longitudinal movement by a screw 5|. Themovement of card holder 44 transverse to the movement of stylus I59 iseffected by the rotation of a lead screw 52 Figs. 2, 3 and 6 engaged bya stud or plunger 53 mounted for sliding movement in a sleeve 54 itselfscrewthreaded in a bushing 55 carried by the card holder 44. A spring56, the tension of which is controlled by the adjustment of sleeve 54,serves to hold the plunger 53 in engaged relation with the lead screw52, the disengagement of such a plunger from the lead screw 52 beingeffected by unscrewing the sleeve 54 from bushing 55 a distancesuflicient to permit the engagement of the 4 sleeve 54 with a nut at thereduced end of plunger 53.

The rotation of lead screw 52 is effected by an arm 58 having alongitudinally disposed slot engaged by a stud 55 laterally extendingfrom the weight 28. Arm 5% is mounted for pivotal movement as a unitwith the gear sector 59 on a shoulder screw 59 engaging a downwardlyextending lug til formed with the flange portion i! of plate I6 as bestseen in Figs. 2 and 3. The gear sector 59 meshes with a pinion 52mounted for free rotation on lead screw 52, the pinion 62 and the leadscrew each being formed with a similarly sized cylindrical portion 53and 64 Fig. 2 cooperating with a coiled spring 5'5 fitted thereon toform a clutch mechanism for imparting a unidirectional movement to thelead screw 52 in response to the two-way movement of pinion 62 aseffected by gear sector 59 and arm 58, the latter being in operativeengagement with the stud 59 carried by weight as above described.

The lead screw 52 is supported at one end by lug 49 and is provided atthis end with a friction disc I53 abutting against the inner disposedside of lug 49 under the action of a spring I64, the tension of whichmay be adjusted by a plug I65 in a sleeve 55 threadedly engaging abushing 61 and supporting one end oi lead screw 52, bushing 67! beingsecured as by welding to lug 48 formed with flange portion It.

The holder has two of its opposite parallel edges bent in a manner toform grooves for receiving the opposite edges or card 43, the latterbeing held securely thereon by a spring 10 secured to the card holder asby a plurality of rivets II, a handle portion 5.2 being provided toassist in flexing the spring i l for permitting the insertion or removalof the card as the case may be.

In a typical example of operation, supposing that a package containingthe impact recording apparatus of this invention and articles beingshipped to a given destination is propped, as in handling, from anyheight within the sensitivity of the recorder mechanism, the impactreceived by the casing is imparted to weight 28 causing the longitudinalmovement of rod 20 against the tension of spring 2! and thereby themovement of stylus ii a corresponding distance on the card 45 throughthe operation of slider member 38 and the connecting rod 5. The movementof rod20 and the weight 29 carried thereby is effective to impart anangular movement to arm 58 for rotating the gear sector 59 and therebythe pinion 52 and its clutch cylindrical portion 63 ineifectivelyrelative to lead screw 52 which is held from rotation during themovement of pinion 62 by disc portion I53 bearing against the innerdisposed side of lug- 39 under the tension of spring I55 with the resultthat the card holder 44 is not operated during the movement of thestylus on the card for recording the impact. The downward movement ofrod 25 and the piston carried thereby in the cylinder I9 is effective togenerate a vacuum to cause the opening valve 39 for permitting the freemovement of the rod 20 during the movement of the stylus for recordingthe impact. On the return movement of rod 20 by the tension of spring 2?however the valve 30 is closed by the tension of spring 33 so as tocause the air from the cylinder to flow through the air path formed bythe opening in cap 29 and the opening in cylinder l9, this opening beingadjustable for controlling the return movement of the rod 29 to anyspeed desired so as to prevent the bouncing or recoil of rod 20 underthe action of spring 2?.

The return movement of rod 20 to normal is effective to rotate thepinion 62 in a clockwise direction to cause the clutch spring 65 to windtight on the drums 63 and 64 for rotating the lead screw 52 and therebymoving the holder M and the card 43 secured thereon for recordinganother impactas above described, such recording operation beingcontinued from the shipping point to the point of destination asindicated by the card shown in Fig. '7, which is a facsimile of a cardon which the impacts received by a package in transit from New York toChicago have recorded, these impacts ranging from a few inches drop to amaximum of four feet.

The removal of the card from its holder is readily effected by theturning of sleeve 54 to cause the disengagement of plunger 53 from thelead screw 52 and manually returning the holder to its start recordingposition shown in Fig. 3. In that position the spring is flexed by themovement of handle 12 for releasing the recorded card and the insertionin the holder of a new card which is followed by the turning movement ofsleeve 54 for reengaging the plunger 53 with the lead screw.

What is claimed is:

1. An impact recording apparatus comprising a mounting element, animpact responsive mechanism mounted on said element, a pair ofparallelly disposed rods supported by means carried by said element, aholder for a card mounted for sliding movement on said rods, a leadscrew, means carried by said holder for engaging said lead screw tocause the operation of said holder upon the operation of said impactresponsive mechanism, a stylus, a slider member for supporting saidstylus, guiding means for said slider member carried by said mountingelement, means operatively connecting said slider member to said impactresponsive mechanism, and means carried by said connecting means forpressing said stylus against said card for recording the operation ofsaid mechanism upon an impact received by the apparatus. I

2. In an impact recording apparatus a longitudinally movable elementresponsive to an impact received by the apparatus, a holder for a card,a stylus, a mechanism operatively connecting said movable element tosaid stylus for recording the movement of said element on said card,another mechanism actuated by said element including a lead screw forimparting movement to said holder following each operation of saidstylus, a spring-pressed plunger carried by said holder for engagingsaid lead screw to cause the movement of said holder, and manuallyoperable means carried by said holder for disengaging said plunger fromsaid lead screw for returning said carriage to start recording positionfollowing the completion of the recording operation on said card.

3. An impact recording apparatus comprising an impact responsivemechanism, a stylus operated by said mechanism, a lead screw, a holderfor a card mounted for movement at right angles to the movement of saidstylus upon rotation of said lead screw, a combined lever and gearingmechanism actuated by said impact responsive mechanism, a one-wayeffective clutch actuated by said gearing mechanism for rotating saidlead screw; a mechanism operatively connecting said holder to said leadscrew, said mechanism comprising a bushing carried by said holder, asleeve threadedly engaging said bushing, a plunger fitted for slidingmovement in said sleeve, a spring tensioned by the movement of saidsleeve for pressing said plunger in engaged relation with said leadscrew, and means carried by said plunger engageable with said sleeve forwithdrawing said plunger from engagement with said lead screw uponunscrewing said sleeve for permitting the manual return movement of saidcard holder to normal starting position following the completion ofrecording operations on said card.

4. An impact recording apparatus comprising an impact responsivemechanism, a stylus oper ated by said mechanism, a lead screw, a holderfor a card mounted for movement at right angles to the movement of saidstylus, a gearing mechanism actuated by said impact responsivemechanism, a one-way effective clutch mechanism for imparting aunidirectional movement to said lead screw actuated by said gearmechanism, and a friction mechanism for preventing rotation of said leadscrew during the non-effective operation of said clutch mechanism.

5. In an impact recording apparatus, a mounting element, a cylindercarried by said element, a rod, said element having means for slidablyreceiving one end of said rod, a weight carried by said rod, a pistonmounted on said rod for movement in said cylinder, a spring disposed fortensioning by the movement of said rod as effected by an impact receivedby the apparatus, a recording mechanism comprising a stylus actuated bythe movement of said rod, a pivoted lever member having an openingdisposed lengthwise thereof, a stud carried by said weight extending inthe opening of said lever for actuating the latter upon a longitudinalmovement of said rod, a gear sector movable as a unit with said lever, ashaft supported by said mounting element having a lead screw portion, apinion mounted for free rotation on said shaft, a clutch member formedwith said pinion, a clutch member carried by said lead screw, a coiledspring fitted on each of said clutch members and cooperating therewithfor imparting a unidirectional movement to said lead screw upon atwo-way movement of said gear sector, a pair of guiding rods supportedby said mounting plate in parallel relation to said lead screw, a holderfor a card mounted for sliding movement on said rods and having meansnormally disposed in operative relation with said lead screw for movingsaid holder one step for each operation of said rod for recording thesuccessive movement thereof on said card.

CHARLES D. RICHARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,104,250 Dake et al. July 21,1914 1,125,731 Savage Jan. 19, 1915 1,413,771 Pampinella Apr. 25, 19221,600,326 Endsley Sept. 21, 1926 1,935,421 Valentine Nov. 14, 1933

